Health Information

Visual Acuity

Visual acuity is a measure of how well a person can focus on an object. To test visual acuity, the person may read letters or symbols
on a chart from the top down, line by line, covering first
one eye and then the other.

A visual acuity score is a ratio comparing the person's performance
to that of people who have "normal" vision.

For example, a person who can read what people
with normal vision can read at
20 ft (6 m) has 20/20 (6/6)
distance vision. The larger the second number, the worse the vision.

If vision is 20/40 (6/12), the person can read
at 20 ft (6 m) what people with
normal vision can read at
40 ft (12 m).

If
vision is 20/60 (6/18), the person can read at
20 ft (6 m) what people with
normal vision can read at
60 ft (18 m).

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How this information was developed to help you make better health decisions.